Indicia and method of applying



Aug. 7, 1945. R. J. LEA-NDER 2,381,605

INDICIA AND METHOD OF APPLYING Filed May 2, 1942 ,Z ZL'yE.

Patented Aug. 7, 1945 UNITED S TES PATENT OFFICE I Q 51; .13. l

"INDICIALANnME'rHOD F APPLYING. Russell 'J.'Leandcr, Chicago, 111., assignor to The Leat'on Gorp'oratiomchicago, 11]., a

of lllinois ,1, 'Ihis invention ,relatesingeneralto indicia of. various :kinds, such as numerals, words, .letters, directions, printed characters and illustrations preparedand applied to various surfaces, and is here more particularly described as a set of numerals applied to a gasoline pump, or replacing those originally applied, although it may have a more general use Wherever applicable.

In the ordinary gasoline dispensing pump, there are a number of numerical indicators for gallons and fractions thereof, prices per gallon and total price indicators, all mounted on the inter-related Wheels or other parts, some of the numerals visible at the front and others at the rear of the pump. If the numerals on the wheels become worn or otherwise indistinct, the indications are unsatisfactory both to the buyer and the seller and also to a pump inspector.

The previous practice has been to remove the number wheels from the pump and to send them to a local or more remote agency of the pump company for renewal of the numbers. This not only takes considerable time and trouble for removing and returning the number wheels, but also the pump is out of service for several days or more until the wheels are returned.

The present invention provides means and a method for initially applying numerals to the wheels or for replacing such numbers, without the necessity of removing the wheels from the pump, and. without the delay or expense of removing, repairing or replacing them.

It is therefore an important object of the invention to prepare ,a number of printed series of indicia in sheet form which are cut in strips of exact size and length and in providing the strips with a pressure sensitive adhesive which is protected during the printing and cut to size with the strips to protect the adhesive coating, but readily removable therefrom without injuring the'adhesive so that the strips will adhere firmly at all the edges when applied by pressure to a suitable receiving surface therefor. I

Other and further objects cf the invention will appear in the specification and will be apparent from the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 represents a printed sheet of numerals in regular and reverse order as commonly employed in an ordinary dispensing pump;

Fig. 2 illustrates a portion of a dispensing pump showing some of the numerals which appear on one face thereof and a removable cover plate therefor;

Fig. 3 shows a portion of a numeral strip with corporation V "I.ggiptliatoslvay,2, 1942, Serial No. 441,462

' rennin. (0141-33) the protecting backing being removed therefrom; and

Fig. 4 is a perspectiveview of a numeral wheel to which one of the numeral strips is being ap- In carrying out this invention, the required sets of numbers or other indications are printed on one side of a flexible sheet 5 having a pressure sensitive adhesive 6 with a non-adhesive cover I of Holland cloth, glassine, or the like, on the other side. Rows of numerals 8 or 9 are arranged in regular or reverse order to form separate strips I0, I I of the different sizes and shapes.

After the printing is finished, the sheets may be retained in complete form but preferably the sheets are divided by cuts I2, I3 and I4 forming strips of desired widths and lengths to provide a complete set of characters, each strip thus formed having the outer printed face and the pressure sensitive adhesive protected by the non-adhesive cover 1 which is coextensive therewith.

The strips from each sheet may thus be easily collected into a complete set applicable to each pump.

In an ordinary pump having a front Window plate 20 as shown in Fig. 2, and a corresponding rear plate, there may be three different designae tions comprising three figures each for the amount purchased 2|, gallons delivered 22, and cents per gallon 23. As these pumps are arranged, the number wheels at the front and back are directly connected and operate reversely, and the corresponding number strips for the front and back will be the reverse of each other so that the numbers of half of the strips of a set will be in direct order, and the other half will be in revers order. In a pump exhibiting nine different figures on each face, eighteen different number strips will be required.

In order to apply the number strips to the wheels or movable parts of a pump indicator, it is necessary only to remove a cover plate at the front or rear of a pump, exposing the number wheels or parts, and since the strips are cut to exact Width and size, each strip will fit closely and accurately upon its corresponding number wheel or part.

A number wheel 25 as shown in Fig. 4 comprises an outer curved cylindrical surface 26 which may have numerals 21 painted, printed, or otherwise applied thereto. If these numbers become erased 0r indistinct, it is necessary to replace or refinish them so that they may be clearly seen from the it is necessary only to select the strip, to remove the protecting cover I therefrom by stripping it from the back as indicated in Fig. 3 and then to apply the strip to the wheel by starting either end of the strip in register with the corresponding number or position on the wheel. The strip is wrapped tightly about the wheel and pressed in place and being out to proper length, it fits the Wheel aQ'CljllflfiElY-QIld g'conipletely, coverihg the ex posed caramel-race thereof. The strip may be wrapped around the wheel, or the strip may be started at one end and the wheel turned until the strip is attached thereto. In eithrfcas, itis'not necessary to remove the wheel from thepump, p

but simply to relatively rotateit eel and the strip in order to properly position and apply the strip.

After all of the strips are applied in a :si'milar manner, the cover plates are replaced and the pump is ready for operation without any delay for. .rmQVing. the wheels and without withholding the pump from use while the number wheels are returned to aservice station.

, Although thesedisplaystripsare thuslparticu larly adapted for arrangement and preparation eferre s:

sets for application to the number wheels of a dispensing pump, a similar construction, arrangement and method may be employed for other and similar purposes. Although the strips are shown as applied to circular wheels, the adhesive strips are also applicable to flat, irregular and other parts.

Lclaimz U m Means f orproviding fofitlie ifnWlLofthe numbers and characters on the wheels of a gasoline pump, arid the like, comprising a flexible sheet having a pressure sensitive adhesive at the back,

and a nbn adhesive protecting cover removably appliedto the, adhesive, the face of the flexible I M "sisions of numerals and characters arranged irrrows, the sheet and cover having cuts dividing the rows of numbers from each other, the was "6! the cuts terminating at short distances from the marginal edges of th sheet, and the rows of numerals adapted to be severed fromv the marginal ied'g'es of the sheets by cuts parallel tothe edges intersecting the cuts between the rows.

Rea ent ii. ILEANDER. 

